Rockingstone Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Rockingstone Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Starbucks Co. (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,029 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 993 shares during the period. Rockingstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 39.4% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 428 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Starbucks Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of SBUX opened at $93.08 on Thursday. Starbucks Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.55 and a fifty-two week high of $103.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.34. The firm has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.99.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The coffee company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starbucks Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Starbucks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total value of $143,849.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,747.36. This trade represents a 2.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SBUX. Citigroup raised their price target on Starbucks from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Starbucks from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.77.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.